Financial Markets and Economy
How to Pull the World Economy Out of Its Rut (Bloomberg)
Crazy things are happening in the world economy. In Europe and Japan, interest rates have turned negative, something long thought impossible. In the U.S., workers’ productivity is improving at the feeblest five-year rate since 1982. China is a confusing welter of slumping growth and asset bubbles.
We just got another really ominous sign for the retail industry (Business Insider)
The retail sector's having a tough time. And this week in particular was pretty rough.
Beaten-Up Hedge Fund Billionaires Reminisce About 'Golden Age' (Bloomberg)
Not even the encouraging words of a private equity titan could brighten the mood of some of the world’s top hedge fund managers.
IMF Doubles Down on ‘Brexit’ Warning (Wall Street Journal)
The International Monetary Fund said a British vote to leave the European Union could have significant and negative effects on the U.K. economy, the latest contribution by an international institution to the fierce debate over Britain’s future in Europe.
Companies Stockpiling the Most Profit Overseas – Microsoft, GE, Apple Top List (Value Walk)
For the average American, corporate tax loopholes can seem maddening. A single U.S. resident making $50,000 per year will pay about 25 percent in federal taxes. Meanwhile, large, profitable U.S. corporations wind up paying an average of just 14 percent. And that’s not to mention the two-thirds of corporations that pay no taxes at all through a combination of “depreciation allowances,” “tax deductions for losses” and other handy methods of sidestepping Uncle Sam.
Hedging on the Case Against Hedge Funds (Bloomberg View)
Opinions of hedge funds always seem to be unhedged and occasionally unhinged. In the distant past, opinions were too positive. The media focused on stories of outsized success. Big winners were lionized. Failures were castigated, but not allowed to spoil the narrative.
Investors have the best stock market ever — thanks to high-frequency trading (Market Watch)
Would you like to retire with 32% more money in your 401(k) account? Do you want to be sure your online brokerage is providing you with the best prices on your stock trades? Do you want to ensure your mutual funds have the potential to generate a higher return for you than even a decade ago?
Silicon Valley’s Dumb Money (A Wealth of Common Sense)
There’s a piece in the New York Times today which posits that the cycle may be turning in Silicon Valley. Well-known venture capitalists such as Chamath Palihapitiya and Bill Gurley are cited as those who have been tempering expectations for the tech industry.
China’s Largest Steel Mill to ‘Lead the Pack’ With Capacity Cut (Bloomberg)
China’s largest steel producer said it’ll cut capacity in line with the government’s resolve to re-balance the economy and reform oversupplied industries such as steel and coal.
Public pensions stick with hedge funds despite frustrations (Reuters)
At quick glance, public pensions should be running from hedge funds.
Google isn’t taking the crown as the world’s largest company, Apple is losing it (Quartz)
The king is dead. Long live the king.
‘I’ll Never Retire’: Americans Break Record for Working Past 65 (Bloomberg)
Almost 20 percent of Americans 65 and older are now working, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the most older people with a job since the early 1960s, before the U.S. enacted Medicare.
ETF Names: The Long & Short Of Them (ETF)
When it comes to individuals stocks, most investors are usually quite familiar with corporate names, from Apple to Coca-Cola to Ford to Walt Disney, because they are all familiar with the products they sell.
Politics
The Lie of Trump's 'Self-Funding' Campaign (The Atlantic)
Throughout the fall and winter, a favorite media narrative was to link Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump together, two outsiders who were upending their respective parties’ races by blasting donor-driven big-money politics. Sanders has kept to that rhetoric into the spring, making the recitation of his famous $27 average donation a centerpiece of every stump speech. But for Trump, it has turned out to be just that: rhetoric.
Oops! Obamacare Runs Afoul of the Constitution (Bloomberg View)
District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer has ruled for Congress in House v. Burwell, a case challenging the authority of the executive branch to pay Obamacare subsidies for which no money has been appropriated.
These are not the highest-profile subsidies; they’re something called the cost-sharing reduction, which lowers the deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses for families buying silver plans who make less than 250 percent of the poverty line. The federal government has paid the insurers a lot of money that wasn’t appropriated, and the House has sued to stop that.
Technology
The Fingerprint Lock on Your Phone Isn’t Cop-Proof (Bloomberg)
The FBI’s feud with Apple over access to Syed Farook’s iPhone might never have happened if the San Bernardino, Calif., shooter had been carrying a 5S or newer. For the 250 million phones sold around the world with fingerprint authentication since 2013, law enforcement may be able to compel suspects to press their fingers to the devices and unlock them.
Power Up! Soft Exosuit Helps You Lift Heavy Loads (Scientific American)
If you're a soldier, firefighter or even a hiker, a new soft robotic suit could one day help you carry hefty loads, a new study finds.
The wearable robot, or exosuit, reduces the amount of energy used while carrying a heavy weight by about 7 percent, on average, the researchers found.
Health and Life Sciences
Placenta protein may play a role in miscarriages (Futurity)
A protein that helps the human placenta develop has the potential to treat recurrent miscarriages and pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening condition that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy.
Researchers suspect the protein, called syncytin-1, could help embryos implant in the womb.
Life on the Home Planet
Fake mountains to make rain? It’s last-gasp geoengineering (New Scientist)
Towering nearly 830 metres up, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – part of the United Arab Emirates – is a marvel of engineering, and the world’s tallest building, for now.
It may soon pale in comparison to a new megastructure in the desert nation – the UAE, with the help of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, is considering building a mountain to increase rainfall. The study is only beginning, but the researchers expect to have the first modelling results – showing necessary height and slope – this summer.
Volcanic Eruption in Costa Rica (NY Times)
Infrared camera footage captured the Turrialba Volcano erupting on Wednesday. The volcano is located about 30 miles from Costa Rica’s capital, San José.
